On September 22, 1992, 18-year old Candice Harms, a freshman at UNL, disappeared after leaving her boyfriend's house at approximately 11:40 PM. The next day, Candice's abandoned vehicle was found north of Lincoln. The police found nothing at the scene to indicate what had happened to Candice, and although police launched a search for her, they could not locate her.

Candy Harms, courtesy Lincoln Journal Star

In December 1992, Scott A. Barney and Roger Bjorkland were arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle. While in custody, Scott told police that he and Roger had kidnapped, raped, and murdered Candice. Scott took police to the locations where they had left Candice's vehicle, where they had assaulted her, and where they had murdered and buried her body.

In Scott's interview, he said Roger stated that he and Scott had planned a bank robbery to fulfill their fantasy of abducting and raping a woman. Roger stated that on September 22, 1992, after he and Scott had driven around for quite some time looking for a suitable victim, they saw Candice turn onto Vine and 27th Streets. They followed her to her parent's home on 61st and Vine where Roger then approached Candice as she exited her vehicle in her parent's driveway and forced her back into the car.

They abandoned Candice's car, bound her wrists, wrapped her head with duct tape, and then placed her in Scott's car. Roger said that they took Candice to 84th and Havelock. At this location, Scott left Roger to go fill his car with gas. While Scott was gone, Roger sexually assaulted her. When Scott returned, Roger observed Scott also sexually assault her.

Following the assault, Roger stated that Candice was placed back into Scott's car and taken to 134th and Yankee Hill Road. There, Roger removed Candice from the car, placed her in a choke hold to control her, and began walking with her out into the field. At this point, Roger stated that he stumbled and fell on top of Candice and that Scott shot Candice twice in the head with a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol.

According to Roger's statement, Roger and Scott left Candice lying in the field and drove away, returning when they realized that they left behind a blanket. When Roger located the blanket near Candice, he heard her still spasming and gasping for air. Roger then fired five rounds at her and left the scene. Roger stated that he and Scott took the blanket and Candice's clothing and personal belongings back to the site of the assault and burned the items there. They threw the weapons and extra ammunition into Pawnee Lake and two days later, went back and buried Candice's body in a shallow grave a short distance from where they shot her.

An autopsy determined the cause of death was manual strangulation and multiple gunshot wounds to the head. The coroner's physician also determined that the various incisions on Candice's body, including the removal of the nipple on her left breast, were consistent with sexual sadism and torture.